GBS, How it May Impact Your Birth Plan & Newborn-- and How You May Be Able to Prevent It!

Maybe it’s your first time having a baby, and you’re here to learn about what to expect. Perhaps you’ve heard of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) testing, perhaps not. I’ll give you a hint—most care providers will test for GBS around the 36-37 week mark.

If you’re an experienced mama, maybe you’re here because, like myself in the past, you’ve tested positive for GBS in a previous pregnancy and are worried you will be positive for this pregnancy.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a bacteria that lives in the intestines, vagina, and rectum of about 1 in 4 women. It is NOT an STD, does not have any symptoms, and is otherwise harmless but can affect your baby around the time of birth. You can read more the specifics from the CDC Fast Facts sheet here.

If you test positive for GBS, it is of course very easily manageable through the administration of antibiotics through IV drip at the start of labor; however, many mamas don’t want an IV at all, fluids of any type, and certainly not any antibiotics. Why might this be you ask?

Firstly, IV fluids can inflate baby’s birth weight and make him seem like he’s lost more weight than he really has because the excess IV fluids will then act as a diuretic for baby. This can give mother’s a false sense of breastfeeding failure (something to bear in mind if you DO have to receive IV fluids during your labor). You can read the study here.

But what about antibiotics? What implications might they have on baby and breastfeeding? Let me first start off by saying that if you ARE GBS positive, then antibiotic administration during labor will help protect your baby from being infected. According to ACOG, while it is rare for a baby to get GBS, it can be very serious when it happens (ACOG, 2021). You can read more here. But, just like when we, as adults, take antibiotics and it knocks our gut bacteria out of balance, a 2017 study from McMaster University showed that antibiotics administered during labor for GBS impact the development of gut bacteria in babies, particularly a delay in the colonization and succession of Bifidobacterium—the “dominant infant gut colonizer” (McMaster University, 2017, para 7). This gut bacteria is important to baby’s maturing immune system, and disrupting this process may provide a more welcoming environment for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other newborn blood infections as well as increased risk for thrush and other yeast infections, allergies and asthma.

Bearing this in mind, what if I told you there was a way that you could likely prevent GBS in the first place? I’ll have you to know that when I was pregnant with my fourth child, Yael, in 2018, I knew wanted an unmedicated birth. I didn’t want IV antibiotics, and desperately started combing the internet for all the research I could get my hands on. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Wellness Mama blog by Katie Wells (which I still follow to this day), and she has a post where she talks about what worked for HER to prevent GBS. I followed her protocol with what worked for her, and lo and behold it worked for me too. But, we’re not the only ones with success stories, the protocol she recommended was actually recommended to her by a midwife that asserted she has yet to have a case of GBS when a mom consumed the following:

• A high quality probiotic daily and occasionally using them vaginally

• 2,000 mg of Vitamin C daily

• Garlic capsules daily (I consumed 2 raw cloves minced fresh daily).

You can read more on her blog post here.

Oh no! I’ve already tested GBS positive and labor is imminent! Now what? You can still nurture baby’s microbiome and give him the best start in life. Firstly, the best thing you can do for baby’s gut is breastfeed. Breastmilk directly from the breast is teeming with good bacteria. Or perhaps breastfeeding isn’t what you have planned, there are still infant probiotic supplements out there that you can give baby, many of which you can find contain B. Infantis, one of the main essential probiotics for supporting baby’s digestive function and immune response and the main probiotic responsible for helping break down the sugars in breastmilk. Your caregiver may be able to point you in the right direction of a high quality probiotic for baby if this is something you’re interested in. When I was pregnant with Yael, I remember seeing advertisements for Evivo probiotics because they have a money-back guarantee and were clinically-proven. I am not paid to reference products on my blog, I’m simply speaking from personal experience and advise you to follow your motherly instincts because only YOU know what’s best for you and baby! Happy mothering and best of luck on your birthing and parenting journey!